1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective undergarment for males, and more particularly to a brief-style underpant having a pouch for receiving a protective athletic cup, and a slit adjacent the pouch to allow the user to urinate without removing the cup from the underpant.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of protective undergarments are used by participants in many sports. For example, athletic supporters or "jock straps" are commonly used by male athletes to provide support and, to some extent, protection from impacts, for the groin area. In contact sports such as football and hockey, and in non-contact sports such as baseball and soccer where there is the potential of injury from fast moving balls or other equipment, a protective cup is also often utilized to provide greater protection to the groin area from impact injuries.
Typically, a supporter garment is used to retain the protective cup in position on the wearer. The standard supporter garment includes an elastic waist strap, two leg straps and a pouch for holding the cup. Other types of supporter garments have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,854 to Wenner, et al. discloses an athletic support short having a cup-retaining pouch attached at its top to the waistband of the shorts, and at its bottom to the crotch of the shorts. U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,314 to Noreen and U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,726 to Ross disclose similar protective pants-like garments which include a pouch for holding a protective cup in position over a wearer's groin.
Each of the above-described protective garments has been found to suffer the disadvantage that the male wearer cannot comfortably urinate while wearing the garment. Typically, in order to urinate, the wearer must remove the cup from its pouch and lower the garment. Because the support garment is most often fitted to be snug on the wearer so that the cup does not shift out of position during use, lowering the garment to urinate in this manner can be awkward and uncomfortable.
Thus, it can be seen that a need exists for an athletic support and protective garment capable of securely retaining a protective cup over the wearer's groin, which garment permits the wearer to urinate while wearing the garment without undue difficulty or discomfort. It is to the provision of such a garment that the present invention is primarily directed.